Plot
When Rocky is defeated by a brutal challenger, Apollo Creed offers to retrain him in order to regain his fighting spirit.

Release Year: 1982

Rating: 6.3/10 (50,408 voted)

Director: Sylvester Stallone

Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young

Storyline
Boxer Rocky Balboa enjoys the wealth he has as world-champion. He only fights against opponents "hand-picked" by his manager Mickey Goldmill. Then he is challenged by the arrogant Clubber Lang. Rocky accepts the challenge to prove once more that there is only one world-champion. But Lang wins and becomes the new champion. Nobody believes in Rocky anymore, except for one man: former world-champion Apollo Creed. As Creed tries to stimulate his fighting spirit and get Rocky back in top-form, it is now up to Rocky to get his edge back. Will he win ?

Cast:
Sylvester Stallone - Rocky Balboa
Talia Shire - Adrian
Burt Young - Paulie
Carl Weathers - Apollo Creed
Burgess Meredith - Mickey Goldmill
Tony Burton - Duke
Mr. T - Clubber Lang
Hulk Hogan - Thunderlips
Ian Fried - Rocky Jr.
Al Silvani - Al
Wally Taylor - Clubber's Manager
Jim Hill - Sportscaster
Don Sherman - Andy
Dennis James - Wrestling Commentator
Jim Healy - Wrestling Commentator

Taglines: A Fighter. A Lover. A Legend. The Greatest Challenge.

Official Website: Rocky Anthology Official site |

Release Date: 28 May 1982

Filming Locations: Biltmore Hotel - 506 S. Grand Avenue, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office Details

Budget: $17,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend: $16,015,408 (USA) (31 May 1982) (939 Screens)

Gross: $124,146,897 (USA)

Runtime: 99 min

Trivia:
In the scene where Rocky body-slams Thunderlips out of the ring, Sylvester Stallone admitted that he couldn't dead-lift Hulk Hogan so he had Hogan jump into his arms.

Goofs:
Crew or equipment visible: After the final fight where Rocky and Apollo are alone in the gym. You can see a crew member walk by in the bottom left corner while Rocky and Apollo both get into the ring.

Quotes:
Paulie: [Thunderlips is walking to the ring] Why are they carrying him?
Mickey: He's walking.

Be nice, it ain't that bad.....

Rating: 7/10

Clearly the most entertaining of the Rocky films due to its perfect pacing and well-choreographed matches. Stallone is at his best when playing Rocky--it is his vision and his creation--and, despite what Hollywood wants us to think, he is not a bad director either.

What he masters are "subtleties" (my term): certain facial expressions or small actions/reactions at perhaps less-than-pivotal moments which reveal his skill. They need to be really looked for to be seen, which is why only those who without the ability to look deeper than the surface find him so mediocre.

I don't want to give them all away, but here's one example of a subtlety that shows just how human he can make his characters (especially Rocky): in this film, in the break between the end of Round 2 and the beginning of Round 3, he is sitting in his corner getting a mouthful from Apollo. An assistant starts to spray something in his face (probably something to coagulate the blood, I don't know), but Rocky, who is focused intently on Apollo's furious coaching, opens his mouth as if he is expecting water to be sprayed in. He suddenly flinches in disgust as the spray goes in his mouth and stings his face. It's just a tiny tiny humorous moment that speaks loudly about attention to detail.

Or how about in Rocky 2, at the beginning of the match when they meet in the center of the ring and Apollo starts making his bravado-laden threats, we see Rocky just sort of nod and half-smile at him politely, then next you see a side-on shot of him turning to walk back to his corner, and the look on his face says "What a prick." Priceless.

I'm not a fan of boxing, or the first Rocky movie (too slow), or the last Rocky movie (huh?), but this one is extremely enjoyable for me to watch as a human being who faces challenges just like anyone else, and who needs that occasional inspiration to give me a dose of determination to overcome them.

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